Currently, the bank of first deposit receives a physical check from the point-of-sale (or point-of purchase), with the physical check including a Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) code. The MICR code comprises fields of numbers and characters found on the physical check (normally including the check number, account number, and routing number for example) that are printed using magnetic ink—occasionally, the physical MICR code includes dashes and spaces between some or all of the fields. Using this MICR code, the bank processes the check using any suitable technique and communicates the physical check to the recipient (or payor) bank for storage or forwarding to the appropriate account holder. For example, the checks are typically sorted according to payor bank, bundled together, and physically shipped to the receiving bank. This physical handling of checks and other commercial paper transactions requires large amounts of labor, costs, and storage space and is subject to various threats. But the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, commonly referred to as “Check 21,” federally mandates that recipient banks must now accept electronic images of checks from other banks, thereby reducing costs and physical threats and increasing efficiency. Each electronic image may then be printed to generate an image replacement document, which is the legal equivalent of a physical check.